When persons are in shock or have lost considerable amounts of body fluids, especially blood, circulatory dynamics may be so impaired that there is insufficient perfusion of the brain by the circulating blood. Such a condition deprives the brain of oxygen and can lead to the permanent injury of brain tissue or death within minutes. This situation is often encountered by emergency medical services at the scene of an accident and by military medical units in the field. To overcome the problem, a number of devices have been developed for compressing the legs and abdomen to force more blood to the upper body. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,933,150; 4,039,039; 4,270,527 and 4,531,516 describe inflatable trouser-like garments, generally referred to as anti-shock trousers or air pants, that have been quite successful and are in wide use in emergency medical services. These devices are designed to open and lie flat upon a surface. The patient is placed on the device and then the leg portions are closed over each leg and the abdominal portion is closed over the abdomen. The trousers are adjustable to various body sizes with "Velcro" fasteners used for closures. After closing the trousers over the lower body, air chambers enclosed within the trousers are inflated to apply a controlled pressure to the lower body to maintain blood pressure.
In practice, these devices are subject to much trauma and contamination from dirt at the accident site, but, more importantly, from the blood, urine and feces of the patient. Because of the dangers of transmission of disease such as the blood born incurable disease AID, and the threat of financial liability, rather elaborate and rigorous cleaning and decontamination procedures are prescribed after every use. The trousers are made of a sturdy fabric that is washable. The air chambers in some models are detachable to spare them the trauma of washing. However, the rigors of the decontamination procedures greatly shorten the life of these expensive devices. They are removed from use awaiting decontamination. And using skilled emergency personnel for washing trousers is also costly.